Month: April 2011

Alright everyone, this is my last blog before the winner of Crate and Barrel’s Ultimate Wedding Contest is selected! The contest entry period ended on March 31st at midnight, but the voting phase will continue until April 30th, so make sure to remind all your friends and families to cast their votes for you, as the number of votes is crucial to getting a spot among the top 100 finalists.

It’s been amazing reading all of your stories and entries, and it’s going to be a tough decision for myself and the other judges. With all the fantastic entries coming in, I thought I’d do a little sharing myself —some my favorite and not so favorite things. After all, we should get to know each other. I may be planning your wedding!

I know many of you have been scouring the aisles of Crate and Barrel checking out the fantastic selections and adding them to your registry. What you may not realize is that there are many treasures in the store of items you may utilize for the wedding itself. I find inspiration each and every time I walk through the store. I will share some of my current favorites, and feel free to write and tell me about some of yours and how you would incorporate them.

The gallon or two gallon jars are perfect for a refreshing pre-ceremony drink stand at an outdoor summer wedding. I do love to float some fresh berries or herbs (think blueberries or lemon verbena). The small ceramic milk bottles are so sweet a few on each table with herbs and wildflowers are the perfect combination of rustic and modern and come at a great price point. What more, your guests can easily take a little memento home with them. I am madly loving the bronze terrarium, filled with maiden hair ferns it is the perfect centerpiece for an escort card table. The globe garden stakes will line any pathway or aisle way beautifully and may be embellished with greenery or florals of your choice. A plethora of hurricane candles for every wedding style imaginable makes Crate & Barrel your go to store for decorating your wedding uniquely and tastefully.

Details, details, details… what takes a wedding from lovely to all around outstanding are the details. Personal touches that only you can dream up. Music that pulls at your heartstrings or makes you just plain happy. For destination weddings, I love custom turndown service including a note from the couple or a favorite poem (for my own wedding we used an e.e. cummings poem). For weddings with valet service, I usually hang a note from the rear view mirror, which is a nice final surprise on the way home. Look to your own favorite things for inspiration and find a way to include them; it’s the personal touches that will make your wedding unforgettable for you and your guests.

What don’t I like? Hmm… almost anything that’s aesthetically pleasing works in the right context. One thing that I almost never do (forgive me Emily Post), and though it’s not super proper, is to set the table with bread and butter plates. With everything else set on the guest tables, it’s just a bit too cluttered for my taste.

I’m getting more and more excited about planning this dream wedding for the lucky couple. Who will it be? No matter the couple, my ultimate goal is always the same — I want my client to have an effortless experience. I love when my Type A brides tell me, “I feel so relaxed. Isn’t there anything else for me to do?” (Imagine this on the week of their wedding!) There is very little we don’t handle for our clients, the least of which is putting out the fires they will never know about on their wedding day. I also work very hard at creating an environment at the wedding that is fitting for the couple. The goal is to create an ambiance that they would create for themselves, had they the time and experience. With this contest, not only is your wedding paid for by Crate and Barrel, but you will get effortless experience of having a top notch wedding planner take care of the rest!